Travel wires

The long drive

We’ve come a long way from the teardrop-shaped caravan towed behind the Holden to the Mount at Christmas. At this weekend’s Covi Motorhome, Caravan & Outdoor SuperShow, the Brotherhood of the Vans can drool over the latest European motorhomes. That would be the German Hymer vehicles built on — surprise! — Mercedes chassis and designed to “satisfy the most discerning traveller looking for top quality and long-lasting value”. So what does Hymer’s boss do on his holidays? Yep, Bernhard Kibler will tour New Zealand in a rental motorhome. Bet it doesn’t have a Formica table.

The long list

Last year Kiwis made 2.62 million overseas trips; in January nearly 166,000 dug their passports out of the socks and knickers drawer. Always looking on the dark side, how many had adequate travel insurance? Canstar general manager Jose George points out: “Some of the popular destinations for Kiwis can be very expensive if things go wrong. In Australia, Kiwis are covered for emergency care but even the ambulance to get you to the hospital will cost you extra. In the US a broken limb can cost tens of thousands of dollars, even for the most straightforward cases.” If that’s given you the jitters, you may want to check out Canstar’s exhaustive (and we mean that nicely) review of things you should consider, and likely costs, at canstar.co.nz.

The long drop

We like people who do good things, so a hat-tip to Queenstown’s Shotover Swing and Canyon Fox. They gave their first birthday weekend takings — $12,700 — to Kaikoura families rebuilding Waiau School and Community Pool. The activity involves launching yourself over a cliff, 109m above the Shotover River, then swinging 200m with a 60m vertical freefall down the cliff face. They call it an “undie-staining” experience. We’ll take their word for it.

The long letters

For those who haven’t driven through Taupo lately, giant white lettering has popped up on the lakefront. It spells out #LOVETAUPO, and the more technosavvy of Travel’s readership will discern that’s yet another social media campaign. So if you want to take your photo standing next to an 11m long, 2m high set of letters, and post it online, you know where to go. The tourist authority says, “The stunning backdrop of Lake Taupo and snow-capped mountains makes it the perfect photo opportunity.”

Travel Wires agrees. But we thought it was slightly more stunning before they stuck their letters there.